Feinstein ducks re-election question
Speculation on senator’s future spurs division among Democrats
Sen. Dianne Feinstein dodged questions Sunday on whether she is planning to mount a re-election run for a fifth term as a U.S. senator in 2018.
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Feinstein, a former San Francisco mayor and the oldest U.S. senator at age 84, quickly sidestepped a question about whether she was “up for another” six-year term.
“Well, we will see, won’t we?” Feinstein told Dana Bash, the show’s host. “I’m not going to declare on CNN.”
Feinstein’s political future has been the subject of intensifying — and, at times, divisive — speculation within Democratic circles in recent months, which the senator’s remarks Sunday will likely do little to quell.
Internal fighting swirling among Democrats around Feinstein’s status can be seen as emblematic of the party’s overall struggle to chart a course for the future as establishment figures clash with growing grassroots efforts to pull them further to the left.
Longtime Feinstein supporters say her wealth of experience is invaluable as the party continues to combat the Trump admin-
istration’s apparent efforts to dismantle governmental and social programs important to Democrats.
Feinstein was first elected in 1992 to the Senate, where she quickly established herself as a Democratic stalwart.
But the party’s more progressive wing has called for a shakeup, lamenting what they see as Feinstein’s coziness with corporate interests and criticizing her for not taking a harder line against the White House.
California Democrats have been reticent when pressed on who should step in to replace Feinstein, though Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, told The Chronicle in May that he would consider running for her seat — but only if she decides to not seek re-election.
Last month, Feinstein rankled some of her Democratic colleagues for taking what some interpreted as an unacceptably soft position on President Trump during a public sit-down interview at the Herbst Theater.
“I just hope he has the ability to learn and to change. And if he does, he can be a good president. And that’s my hope,” Feinstein said.
After her remarks exploded across the Internet, Feinstein issued a statement the next day in an effort to clarify her remarks and highlight the objections she’s raised to Trump’s policy positions “and with his behavior,” she said.
“The duty of the American president is to bring people together, not cater to one segment of a political base,” Feinstein said in the statement. “While I’m under no illusion that it’s likely to happen and will continue to oppose his policies, I want President Trump to change for the good of the country.”
After enduring a backlash for her remarks in August, Feinstein was asked Sunday on “State of the Union” whether she felt “vindicated” now that the president has signaled his intent to reach across the political aisle to Democratic congressional leaders to craft legislative legal protections for “Dreamers” — unauthorized immigrants brought to the United States as children.
“I would say, this is a start, because big bills have to be bipartisan,” Feinstein said. “In a twoparty system, the president becomes a point of reconciliation between the two (parties). And that’s been the history of leaders going up, sitting down with the president, working something out. So, this, to me, was a bit of regular order that might be able to produce something.”
While Feinstein may remain publicly uncommitted about seeking another term, she continues to raise funds for a possible re-election. On Aug. 28, she held court at a $1,000-per-head dinner on the San Francisco waterfront. Her re-election campaign had nearly $3.6 million in cash on hand, according to campaign finance disclosures made on June 30.